Thursday, 10 January 2013

PRE-REBELLION – EP REVIEW

Pre-Rebellion

Pre-Rebellion – Shits & Giggles

First things first, great name. Pre-Rebellion is a name that
encompasses all the pent up rage, angst and pre-emptive disappointment that we’re
all told teenagers feel these days – and thankfully this is a band of teenagers
and not some estate agents trying to hang on to that last shred of youth before
mortgaging their parents for a new Bentley. Second things second, this exactly is
the reason that I’m so glad the internet didn’t exist when I was 16. You see,
this London quartet have some nice ideas for songs, some nuggets of melodies
and some ability for songwriting but acoustic recordings made in a bedroom
sharing one microphone is the kind of stuff that 99% of the time should remain
on an MP3 (or tape in my day) only to be played to girls you’re trying to
impress. First track, ‘Ride On Through’, is full of Red Hot Chili Peppers
influences right down to the improvised beatboxing/scatting followed by some
free form hand-clap percussion. Then comes the anthem for the youth against the
rioters, ‘Get Through Me’, which features the line “If you want to rob HMV then
you’re gonna have to get through me” which throws up more questions than
answers. Do these lads think HMV is the last bastion of music on the high
street? Do they think people that are openly looting have not already illegally
downloaded all of HMV’s stock? Confusing.

There is a heartfelt number that sounds like it’s lifted
straight from America’s ‘A Horse With No Name’ and the EP finishes with the
piano heavy ‘The Hollowing Youth’ which sounds strangely like my GCSE
coursework mixed with something that the Holloways would write when skull-drunk
on cheap lager. Now I’m not in the business of slagging of folk at the start of
their musical journey and I think with a tonne of gigs under their belts
(seriously guys, gig anywhere and everywhere and always watch the bands you’re
on with) these guys might develop in to something worthwhile. Not to mention
the fact that this is an acoustic, rough recording of a handful of songs taken
completely out of context. What worries me is just how easy it is for artists
to put absolutely anything up online these days without a thought of what the
quality is like, whether there is a point and what it might do to their
reputation if it reaches the wrong ears. That said, this EP is titled Shits
& Giggles so I’m guessing these guys aren’t too bothered what people think.
Good luck to you I say and please, please, please become awesome one day
because that band name deserves some awesome music behind it.